[Q] Alternative methods of accessing Recovery? - Xperia Play Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

My Xperia Play has had a few problems out of the box, mainly that when I switch it on there is no boot animation, just a black screen. This means I can't access Recovery through the normal method of holding down on the volume or the back button etc. I've installed CWM through the CWM Xperia installer so I know it's there. I also ran the Auto-Magic Nandroid through that app, which caused my screen to go black (as it does whenever I choose to reboot through an app). When I looked on my SD card though there is now a Nandroid folder, so it's probable that the device does go into Recovery; I just can't see it.
So my question is this; is there any other way of getting my phone into Recovery so I can install some sweet, delicious custom ROMs? Maybe through ADB or similar? Or is it possible to install a ROM via another method?
Any help at all would be appreciated!!

If it wasn't working right right out of the box, I would have sent it back.
Can't you boot into recovery from the CWM-installer app?

Solar.Plexus said:
If it wasn't working right right out of the box, I would have sent it back.
Can't you boot into recovery from the CWM-installer app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly that wasn't an option, it was the only one they had and I wasn't about to send it back for another type of phone, I've wanted this thing for ages
I've just clicked that option in the app and it's just rebooted the phone normally.

Trism said:
Sadly that wasn't an option, it was the only one they had and I wasn't about to send it back for another type of phone, I've wanted this thing for ages
I've just clicked that option in the app and it's just rebooted the phone normally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn on the phone, and when you see the notification light turn blue, press volume down for the locked bootloader cwm, or the back button for the one in DooMKernel.
Sent from a Galaxy far, far away

I've not yet tried installing DooMKernel, I'm worried that if I can't get into the normal recovery in won't be able to get into that one, then I'll be stuck with a boot looping phone.
Pressing down on volume on the blue led comes on doesn't seem to do much, simply stops the boot process from completing fully. I left the phone for 5 mins and got nothing. Pressing the power button again started the boot process again and it loaded up normally (minus any animations of ciurse)
It seems like stuff is happening, but I just can't see it. I doubt this is a hardware fault as the screen works perfectly all other times, so what the heck could it be!?

The recovery in DooMKernel is already built in, so it's different than using the Xperia CWM installer. By the way, the back button will get you into DooMKernel's recovery.

I'll give it a try and see what happens. Thanks for the advice guys!

Related

MT3G slide Stuck at splash, recovery DOES NOT WORK

Things I can do:
- Get to bootloader screen
- Plug in USB, pop in batter and get to fastboot USB (PC detects "Android 1.0" at this point but can't find a driver for it).
- Attempt to load ESPRIMG.zip from root of sdcard but always get "Main version is older!" and "update failed!" followed by a prompt to reboot device.
Things I can't do:
- Boot up the phone past the splash screen
- Go into recovery/fastboot; recovery dumps me to the splash and hangs there and fastboot just brings me right back to the bootloader menu.
Phone was working a few hours ago and then when I powered it down it never made it back past the splash screen.
Am I screwed?
jhinckley said:
Things I can do:
- Get to bootloader screen
- Plug in USB, pop in batter and get to fastboot USB (PC detects "Android 1.0" at this point but can't find a driver for it).
- Attempt to load ESPRIMG.zip from root of sdcard but always get "Main version is older!" and "update failed!" followed by a prompt to reboot device.
Things I can't do:
- Boot up the phone past the splash screen
- Go into recovery/fastboot; recovery dumps me to the splash and hangs there and fastboot just brings me right back to the bootloader menu.
Phone was working a few hours ago and then when I powered it down it never made it back past the splash screen.
Am I screwed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Delete ESPRIMG.zip from your sd card. It tries to load it every time you start up.
That happened to me before and I didn't know what was going on lol.
It wasn't on there before I put it there. I was trying to get it back to the factory image. Whenever I went to the boot screen it was always looking for ESPRDIAG.zip or ESPRIMG.zip. If I delete it, nothing new happens, still hangs.
/bump
Still stuck. :/
Hmm odd situation.I no I had a problem but I left it on the splash screen for about five minutes and it finally booted you can try leaving it there and see of it eventually boots but if it takes 10 minutes plus then forget it. Though idk why you can't boot into recovery. when you have it plugged into your computer does adbe recognize it? Maybe you can do something with adb
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
This is happening to me too. Anyone know the solution?
If I delete ESPRIMG.zip will anything bad happen?
same thing here...lol
total noot to the mytouch.
i am trying to fix for a friend, and i get endless boot loops. can acess recovery and bootloader
acejoker25000 said:
Hmm odd situation.I no I had a problem but I left it on the splash screen for about five minutes and it finally booted you can try leaving it there and see of it eventually boots but if it takes 10 minutes plus then forget it. Though idk why you can't boot into recovery. when you have it plugged into your computer does adbe recognize it? Maybe you can do something with adb
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adb only sees the phone if its in recovery or fully booted. I'm pretty sure fastboot.exe is what is used to debug fastboot and earlier boot stages.
unknownally said:
This is happening to me too. Anyone know the solution?
If I delete ESPRIMG.zip will anything bad happen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, nothing bad will happen
dapoharoun said:
same thing here...lol
total noot to the mytouch.
i am trying to fix for a friend, and i get endless boot loops. can acess recovery and bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're hijacking a thread, you should make your own. Simple answer to your question though; reflash a rom in recovery. If you need more info make your own thread.
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide
I made my own thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=890386 with no luck.
I didn't have ESPRING.zip to begin with since I deleted it after rooting. So I download the stock ESPRING and ran it through Bootloader. It prompted me to update so I did.
After the update finishes it asks me to reboot. So I do and then I'm stuck on the splash/boot screen again.
When I first rooted I deleted the expressimg.zip and left the update.zip (recovery) just incase something like this happened ...
Boot up using power + volume down then its gonna try to look for espressimg.zip ...it will tell you its not found..then use the volume button to go to recovery..push power to select then its gonna take you to the screen with the red triangle/exclamation mark screen ..press and hold power and volume up for a little (if it doesn't work keep tryn till you get the stock blue recovery to pop up)...the stock recovery will pop up..then it will prompt you to apply update. Zip from sd card (clockwork recovery) ..select it and you should be in clockwork ...then do what you gotta do...
Its happened to me a few times and this always does the job
Hope this helps if not I'm sorry and keep tryn
You HAVE to have update.zip (clockwork recovery) on your SD card..(not in any folders, on the root of the card) in order for this to work!!!
If you don't have it push to SD card via adb
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
JeezyMT3G said:
When I first rooted I deleted the expressimg.zip and left the update.zip (recovery) just incase something like this happened ...
Boot up using power + volume down then its gonna try to look for espressimg.zip ...it will tell you its not found..then use the volume button to go to recovery..push power to select then its gonna take you to the screen with the red triangle/exclamation mark screen ..press and hold power and volume up for a little (if it doesn't work keep tryn till you get the stock blue recovery to pop up)...the stock recovery will pop up..then it will prompt you to apply update. Zip from sd card (clockwork recovery) ..select it and you should be in clockwork ...then do what you gotta do...
Its happened to me a few times and this always does the job
Hope this helps if not I'm sorry and keep tryn
You HAVE to have update.zip (clockwork recovery) on your SD card..(not in any folders, on the root of the card) in order for this to work!!!
If you don't have it push to SD card via adb
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what if ur not rooted?
dapoharoun said:
what if ur not rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then root
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
It's my understanding that without having the security off on our phones, the espresso recovery is not modifiable. What this essentially means is that, either the recovery should be there and fine (and by "fine" I mean, you get a triangle with an exclamation mark in it) because no ROM can currently touch it.
Me thinks that, if you are not able to get to the stock recovery (not Clockwork, but the basic, bare bones one) than your phone is probably having bigger issues. I would test this by doing the following:
1. Boot into the boot loader (I believe it's power and Volume Down at the same time when the device is turned off).
2. Wait for the device to finish it's grumblings (if you have the ESPER.IMG file on there, I think it actually checks it and even asks if you want to install it -- if it does, say no).
3. Select the option for recovery (with the volume keys).
4. I think it's power again to execute the option.
If you get to a nice black screen with a picture of your phone on there with a red triangle, then your phone is in business. We can probably convince it to behave. If that far doesn't go, me thinks something is wrong with the bits of your phone that current ROM modders can't write to...
sleepykit said:
It's my understanding that without having the security off on our phones, the espresso recovery is not modifiable. What this essentially means is that, either the recovery should be there and fine (and by "fine" I mean, you get a triangle with an exclamation mark in it) because no ROM can currently touch it.
Me thinks that, if you are not able to get to the stock recovery (not Clockwork, but the basic, bare bones one) than your phone is probably having bigger issues. I would test this by doing the following:
1. Boot into the boot loader (I believe it's power and Volume Down at the same time when the device is turned off).
2. Wait for the device to finish it's grumblings (if you have the ESPER.IMG file on there, I think it actually checks it and even asks if you want to install it -- if it does, say no).
3. Select the option for recovery (with the volume keys).
4. I think it's power again to execute the option.
If you get to a nice black screen with a picture of your phone on there with a red triangle, then your phone is in business. We can probably convince it to behave. If that far doesn't go, me thinks something is wrong with the bits of your phone that current ROM modders can't write to...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ummm that's exactly what I already said 0_o
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
For reasons that I don't quite understand I always like instructions in step by step order so I thought it might help. If not, oh well...
I do wonder what could cause someone to lose their recovery on a Slide (at least before this afternoon)...
sleepykit said:
I do wonder what could cause someone to lose their recovery on a Slide (at least before this afternoon)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol me too
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
ok not my thread but im need help to.
my phone wont boot, so theres no way to root.....i tired.
i can get the red triangle and phone: pics in my thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=891312
thanks you
dapoharoun said:
ok not my thread but im need help to.
my phone wont boot, so theres no way to root.....i tired.
i can get the red triangle and phone: pics in my thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=891312
thanks you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm... Does your Slide have a 0 on the keyboard or a 0 with a line through it (where the 0 key actually is)? I know this sounds like an odd questions, but bear with me for a moment...
For the first however many months, Slides could be rooted by fooling the thing into booting a modded Clockwork Recovery and then gaining root that way. All the work had to basically be done while in recovery (unlike the exploid method). The newer Slides, from what I understand, no longer have that flaw and the method doesn't work.
This method (http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/1856-rooting-the-slide/page__p__17094#entry17094) (sorry have no idea where Eugene's copy of this has gone in the dev section).
JeezyMT3G said:
When I first rooted I deleted the expressimg.zip and left the update.zip (recovery) just incase something like this happened ...
Boot up using power + volume down then its gonna try to look for espressimg.zip ...it will tell you its not found..then use the volume button to go to recovery..push power to select then its gonna take you to the screen with the red triangle/exclamation mark screen ..press and hold power and volume up for a little (if it doesn't work keep tryn till you get the stock blue recovery to pop up)...the stock recovery will pop up..then it will prompt you to apply update. Zip from sd card (clockwork recovery) ..select it and you should be in clockwork ...then do what you gotta do...
Its happened to me a few times and this always does the job
Hope this helps if not I'm sorry and keep tryn
You HAVE to have update.zip (clockwork recovery) on your SD card..(not in any folders, on the root of the card) in order for this to work!!!
If you don't have it push to SD card via adb
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey,
thanks for the help. I just have a problem.
I can't get to recovery. When I do, it goes to the T-Mobile splash screen. I do have update.zip and ESPRING.zip in the root of my SD card, but I don't have exspressimg.zip. However, I don't think it matters since I can't get into recovery.
I also tried using a different update.zip from http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Espresso with no luck.
unknownally said:
Hey,
thanks for the help. I just have a problem.
I can't get to recovery. When I do, it goes to the T-Mobile splash screen. I do have update.zip and ESPRING.zip in the root of my SD card, but I don't have exspressimg.zip. However, I don't think it matters since I can't get into recovery.
I also tried using a different update.zip from http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Espresso with no luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ESPRIMG.zip is what I meant lol sorry
And no it doesn't matter.... does this happen when you select "recovery" from fastboot? Or when youre on the red triangle/exclamation point screen? you shouldn't be taken to the tmo splash screen...don't hold power and vol up for too long cuz it will reboot the phone and take you to splash screen (maybe that's what ur doing)
If you're in the red triangle screen hold power and vol up for no more then one second..keep pushing till the blue stock recover pops up
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App

Semi Bricked/Bricked Phone Needs Fixing

Hi Guys -
First time android user and attempted rooting using the odin method. I followed the instruction listed here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1311194 to the "T" before starting. I was doing alright until after flashing the recovery-cwm-hercules.tar, then it gets weird. It didn't flash to recovery but just rebooted to the main screen (where I could see the background picture with the locker pattern), then it immediately shuts off and the cycle begins again.
The weird thing is that I can't even access recovery mode (hold vol. up+down+power), because I'll see the Clockworkmod logo then it flickers and reboot itself. This happens every time I attempted recovery mode.
My attempts to fix it:
1. I flashed the recovery, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1315390, to see if it makes any difference. The same story happens with loading to main screen w/locker then it reboots itself again and again. Sometimes I'll be lucky to input the pattern but before soon it will reboot itself again. Same thing with recovery mode as described above.
2. Flashing the stock kernel provided by http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1311229 to see if it does anything. Nope, same story for both recovery mode/home screen.
3. The insecure kernel, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1320946. Same story. nope, nope.
4. Tried these in all order and permutation. Nada.
5. Tried it both ways using samsung driver/kies.
6. Tried it both ways with/without SIM card.
7. Battery is fully charged when attempting any flashing.
8. All the above in my second computer to no avail.
I'm sorry if this might come across as long winded but I just want you guys to get the full picture. I would really appreciate it if you guys could offer any solutions or advice on how to correct this problem. Please be gentle with this first time android user haha, thanks in advance man.
Manually boot into recovery (vol up/down keys) and make a backup (be sure to do this). Then try wipe data/factory reset through recovery. Sounds like a ROM issue not a hardware issue
First off, thanks roman for the quick reply. That's the thing I can't get to recovery manually with the button combinations. When I do that it gives me this message:
[Picture]White dropbox/mail box with a yellow arrow pointing to the Android
"Verifying internal mmc block
Checksum confirmation check (0)
No need checksum confirmation already exceuted
#manual mode#"
It would then reboot and goes to the screen with the locker then immediately repeats that cycle. It doesn't have any wipe options/restart now/etc.
No way to power it down except with battery removal. I've attempted what you suggested many times too to no avail.
redlaws said:
First off, thanks roman for the quick reply. That's the thing I can't get to recovery manually with the button combinations. When I do that it gives me this message:
[Picture]White dropbox/mail box with a yellow arrow pointing to the Android
"Verifying internal mmc block
Checksum confirmation check (0)
No need checksum confirmation already exceuted
#manual mode#"
It would then reboot and goes to the screen with the locker then immediately repeats that cycle. It doesn't have any wipe options/restart now/etc.
No way to power it down except with battery removal. I've attempted what you suggested many times too to no avail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so if it actually boots into the ROM but reboots, try rebooting to recovery from adb -- "adb reboot recovery"
think it's a no go . i tried using adb recovery method and the same thing would occur, it would restart and seems to load into recovery mode but then I would only see the logo, then it flickers and restart itself.
then the vicious cycle of loading up to the screen-locker and restarting itself begins. guess this is the smartphone version of being friend-zoned.
Have you tried taking battery out then back in and while holding volume up/down plug it back into computer? That has never failed to get me into d/l mode. Man I hope you get it working.
Yeah I tried that and getting to download mode is not the problem. just that recovery mode doesn't boot properly in that it would restarts itself. and when i boot normally to screen, i would see the locker and background picture then within 3 secs, it would restart itself.
Guess last resort is to go to t-mobile store, play dumb, and get samsung on it. only problem is that i worry about the flash rom counter # since mine is like 10 already (my attempts to address this problem). Let's hope those tmobile reps aren't that tech savvy.
Thanks for all the help fellas, great early posting experiences so far.
I'm sorry I've read your post..and i'm confuse, if you're able to go into download mode, then why could you just start Odin and flash the recovery again. If its unsuccessful then check the MD5 to see if you have a bad download. I think you should download the recoveries files again add give Odin another shot..Good luck..
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
are you able to go into CW recovery ?
if so, you can mount the USB, download a stock ROM, and then flash it using CWR
kt0ce said:
I'm sorry I've read your post..and i'm confuse, if you're able to go into download mode, then why could you just start Odin and flash the recovery again. If its unsuccessful then check the MD5 to see if you have a bad download. I think you should download the recoveries files again add give Odin another shot..Good luck..
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to give it another try. I've been trying it with different files for a good 2 days now though.
AllGamer said:
are you able to go into CW recovery ?
if so, you can mount the USB, download a stock ROM, and then flash it using CWR
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand that but that's the a big problem. If I could go to CW it would be a different story but I can't go into CW recovery. I would be able to see the logo CWR and the version number then immediately it shuts off again and reboot. Happens every time without fail.
redlaws said:
I understand that but that's the a big problem. If I could go to CW it would be a different story but I can't go into CW recovery. I would be able to see the logo CWR and the version number then immediately it shuts off again and reboot. Happens every time without fail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you let go of holding the vol+ & vol- buttons as soon as you see the blue text in CWR ?
it can easily reboot by accident when holding those buttons and hitting power, but the buttons are so responsive it selected the first option to reboot the phone by accident a couple of times on me
I'm positive that I held it properly and long enough. I never got to the blue text, just the CWR logo showing then turns off (like you shutting off a tv) and reboots itself. Trying to flash it again with Odin didn't work either and I tried the recoveries from different sources as well.
I went to the Tmobile store today and seems like they'll mail me a replacement then I'll return my current one to them. Only thing is stocking/processing fee but it's a small price to pay if it resolves everything.
glad they will give you another one..
Dude if you can get into download mode then it can most likely be fixed by flashing stock through odin. This would save you some $$. Just saying.
reocej said:
Dude if you can get into download mode then it can most likely be fixed by flashing stock through odin. This would save you some $$. Just saying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, I understand that it should but it's not. I've flashed the stock recovery for more than 10 times and I still can't past the home screen. It would just reboot itself in less than 3 sec. And I'm positive I flashed it properly. Believe me I don't want to spend extra money if I don't have too.

[Q] Stuck in a boot loop with HTC diagnostic area (dead volume down rocker)

Hey guys
I'm running MrGarak's fantastic MIUI rom however I've found that the kernel is booting my phone into that white HTC diagnostic screen by default. Unfortunately my volume down button is dead and so I can't navigate the menu; the only way I can boot my phone at the moment is to boot it connected via USB as that makes it boot to Recovery and I can reboot from there.
Any ideas? I think this and another rom I tried both used LordMUE's kernel, could that be the reason the boot preferences don't default to just booting the OS?
Any help and/or pointers would be greatly appreciated
So you can access bootloader and recovery!
So just flash another kernel. What's your problem?
Put a zip on your SD (with a SD reader or ADB pull), then go in recovery, navigate with the 4 keys under the screen (or vol+ and power)... and flash.
What is strange for me is that it seems to happen sudenly... so how do ou know it's the kernel. Anyway...
I have clockwork recovery, and can navigate it using the soft keys (home menu etc). You should also he able to use the vol up key to get to the bottom of the list, (depending on the recovery you're using I suppose)
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
_david_94 said:
I have clockwork recovery, and can navigate it using the soft keys (home menu etc). You should also he able to use the vol up key to get to the bottom of the list, (depending on the recovery you're using I suppose)
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately it boots into the white HTC area (dunno what it's called). The one where you can see if your phone is S-OFF or not.
Also, I'm not sure what is to blame... but I've only just recently noticed that my phone cold boots this way so I assumed it was a recent rom that I applied. Will test this theory later.
Sounds to me like your volume down button is stuck in.
Definitely not a ROM issue, as it has nothing to do with the bootloader.
Sent from The App that Time Forgot.
Hey, i had this issue like a month ago. You can check my previous threads. It's hardware I'm 100% sure. Basically if you're in warranty you need to flash the stock rom with S-On so you can get a new phone. You can get it to boot but it's really a pain. You have to play with the volume up when first turning on your phone. It took me about an hour. Then when it boots you'll be in a "Safe Mode" (no clue whats limited all seemed fine to me). Then do your backup if you wish.
Also note: Flashing the S-On rom is a PAIN, took me about 2-3 hours of rebooting, holding vol up, tapping vol up, to get it to boot right, but with patients you'll get it to go.
Good luck to ya.
xtremedelta said:
Hey, i had this issue like a month ago. You can check my previous threads. It's hardware I'm 100% sure. Basically if you're in warranty you need to flash the stock rom with S-On so you can get a new phone. You can get it to boot but it's really a pain. You have to play with the volume up when first turning on your phone. It took me about an hour. Then when it boots you'll be in a "Safe Mode" (no clue whats limited all seemed fine to me). Then do your backup if you wish.
Also note: Flashing the S-On rom is a PAIN, took me about 2-3 hours of rebooting, holding vol up, tapping vol up, to get it to boot right, but with patients you'll get it to go.
Good luck to ya.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I'm definitely beyond warranty. The thought of vol+down being stuck down makes a lot of sense!
I'll just take it to one of the dodgy Asian repair shops, if it's a hardware issue I'm sure they'll know what to do.
Cheers for your help everyone!

[Q] Root But No Recovery?

Guys, I just installed a pre-rooted image ( I9505XXUBMGA) and it's working fine, but I have no recovery of any kind? I tried installing CWM by flashing through Odin, but trying recovery keys means it just goes to a black screen and then reboots once you let the keys go and boots into the phone as per normal - also tried installing Goo manager and TWRP but no joy there either.
A bit of an oddity is that after installing the above, I installed ROM manager, which subsequently detects TWRP (even though it was uninstalled at this point) but selecting 'reboot to recovery' means it reboots into CWM!! I definitely can't get CWM through the recovery key combination though....
I'm pretty stuffed without any kind of recovery at all, so am not sure where to go from here? Help anyone?
DekHog said:
Guys, I just installed a pre-rooted image ( I9505XXUBMGA) and it's working fine, but I have no recovery of any kind? I tried installing CWM by flashing through Odin, but trying recovery keys means it just goes to a black screen and then reboots once you let the keys go and boots into the phone as per normal - also tried installing Goo manager and TWRP but no joy there either.
A bit of an oddity is that after installing the above, I installed ROM manager, which subsequently detects TWRP (even though it was uninstalled at this point) but selecting 'reboot to recovery' means it reboots into CWM!! I definitely can't get CWM through the recovery key combination though....
I'm pretty stuffed without any kind of recovery at all, so am not sure where to go from here? Help anyone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Instead of holding power + volume the whole time, try letting go of the power button as soon as you feel it vibrate but keep the volume up pressed. Once you see the first splash screen with Recovery Booting in the upper left, you can go ahead and let go of the volume button as well.
lordcheeto03 said:
Instead of holding power + volume the whole time, try letting go of the power button as soon as you feel it vibrate but keep the volume up pressed. Once you see the first splash screen with Recovery Booting in the upper left, you can go ahead and let go of the volume button as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jeez, it's always the simplest of things!! Slightly different than my old S2 then...... thanks, bud, you saved me hours of hair pulling!! Any recommendations for an app that'll detect the CWM? I thought ROM manager would, but obviously not..... not in my case anyway.... not the end of the world, as long as CWM is working, that's the main thing!
Edit: Cancel the above, I got ROM Manager working......

Stock + Root - Lenovo A390T

TLDR: Need a stock image, root and custom recovery for the Lenovo A390T
Hi All,
So my Chinese friend brought me her mothers phone to try and fix. As far as I can gather, she tried to update, got impatient and rebooted it. It just permanently hangs on an "Updating..." screen. First thing I tried was getting into fastboot, I managed to get in and it said "Fastboot Mode" in the top left corner. My PC doesn't recognise the phone as connected (even though if I turn it on normally it does recognise ADB - ruling out any issues with drivers or my hardware I think?)
I also tried to boot into recovery. I get the little droid with the exclamation mark, but that's it. If I press the power button I see the menu for maybe a second as it thinks I have clicked on the first option (Reboot) - the up and down buttons do nothing (pressing or holding) so literally the only button I can press is power, which just reboots the damn thing.
The good news is I did manage to boot Android into safe mode, then tried a factory reset from there. It booted back up without a home screen app but everything else seemed okay. I could get into settings from the notification menu by pulling the top bar down, but otherwise it was just black with a top bar.
I downloaded an APK for Nova and installed that through ADB, and we're golden on the actual phone working again. What I would like to do is install a custom recovery in case it ever happens again, so I can easily recover the OS - and get a stock image. I did find this for root, but it doesn't seem to work (Framaroot says there are no exploits available) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=50774585&postcount=7
So I need to root, install a custom recovery, and then get a clean stock image back on the device, any ideas?

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